The Cabal

The Cabal was a secret society organized apparently during the Coming of the Order, reportedly in 901 or 902. The chief organizer and head of the Cabal was Phineas Daily, who also became a High Councillor in Congress after the establishment of the Second Order. The full extent of the actions taken by the Cabal both during and after the Coming may never be known, nor is it likely to ever learn the identities of all of its members. However, the mere existence of the Cabal was discovered by Stavros Supprus, who spent some time investigating the matter and attempting to learn all he could of it and obtain proof of its existence and illegal actions, before revealing it to the world. He eventually received help in this in 912, from members of The Chaos. Shortly thereafter, in the midst of events leading to the Chaos War, it was learned that King Demos was himself involved in the Cabal, unofficially. It is commonly believed he wanted the Cabal to keep him on the throne indefinitely, despite the election of Quinn Darkstrider. However, Demos claimed he merely supported them and kept their existence secret so that they might safeguard the Second Order from threats such as the Chaos.

It became known that one agent of the Cabal, Zeke Sanguine, had orchestrated the Laser Plot in 904, and framed the Protestants for it. Proof of this was provided by members of the Chaos to Marshal Poss Primus, whose own forces were in opposition to those of the Cabal. Primus shared the proof of the Cabal's actions with General Tovan Middlebury and Admiral Althis Portman, both of whom had become members of the Cabal sometime after the Coming, and who had known nothing of its involvement in the Laser Plot. This convinced them that they were in the wrong, and they ordered their combined forces to stand down. (Most of the military followed this order, but some- including Colonels Charles Woodman and James Major- refused. However, Woodman and Major were both arrested, after which their followers immediately capitulated.)

In the aftermath of the Chaos War, attempts were made to discover the identities of its members, and while several were found and imprisoned, others remain unknown. It seems that even senior members such as Middlebury and Portman remained unaware of the identities of other senior members, with the exception of Phin Daily (who was found dead in his home a few days after the end of the war, though it remains a mystery whether it was suicide or murder, and if the latter, who might be responsible; though it is commonly rumored that he was killed by Demos). It is widely suspected that Durell Turner was a member, but this has never been proven (though he remains a fugitive for other crimes, regardless of whether he was in the Cabal). Another suspected (but unconfirmed) member of the Cabal was Seth Manager, though he is believed to be dead (presumed to have been killed by his capo, Amelia Mysshroudedtery, though there is no proof of this). Demos remains at large, and is believed to be accompanied by another former Cabalist, René Deadzone.

There are persistent rumors that a new Cabal has been organized by the undiscovered remnants of the old, and that they have recruited new members in the years since the first Cabal was essentially eliminated. However, the likelihood of these rumors is seriously doubted by most, considering the greatly increased scrutiny of anyone in positions of power since the end of the Chaos War. Still, conspiracy theorists say that the new Cabal has simply moved deeper into the shadows, becoming more cautious in its plans, and possibly refraining from making any moves until they feel confident they will fail to arouse suspicions.

The Cabal consisted of 12 "senior" members at the time it was disbanded, though that rank didn't necessarily indicate how long such members had actually belonged to the group (many of them had actually joined later than, or even been recruited by, lower-ranking members). There were any number of "mid-level" members, and at the bottom of the chain were "junior" members, also known as "agents of the Cabal." Junior members are known to have included René Deadzone and Zeke Sanguine, both of whom reported directly to Col. Charles Woodman (a mid-level member). Another mid-level member was Major Shirona Monogwrangle, whose involvement in the Cabal was revealed by General Middlebury.

It is also known that the senior members (some of whom were known to one another, and some of whom were known only to Phin Daily) went by color-coded aliases. Daily was called "Mr. Yellow." While Demos Royal was not technically a member of the Cabal, he was commonly referred to by Cabalists as "Mr. Gold." It's said that Daily chose the name "Yellow" for himself as a sort of joke, based on the fact that he was "similar to but less valuable than" Demos, as yellow "looks like, but is less valuable than" gold. (Apparently, it was Demos himself who came up with the idea of color-coded names, choosing the name "Gold" for himself when he began his association with the Cabal in 904.) Tovan Middlebury's code name was "Mr. Cyan" and Althis Portman's was "Mr. Magenta." They both joined the Cabal in 904; Tovan early that year, and Althis several months later, around the same time as Demos. Admiral Portman apparently wanted to call himself "Blue" when he joined, because of the color's association with the sea. However, that color was claimed by one of the founding members of the Cabal. His second choice was "Cyan," but Daily assigned that color to Middlebury, instead, and dubbed Portman "Magenta." Daily said it seemed more fitting, based on their respective personalities (Middlebury being the calmer of the two, and Portman being the more hot-tempered).

Another senior member was known as "Ms. Brown." While most of what is known about the Cabal was learned after the war, reported by Admiral Portman and General Middlebury, Quinn Darkstrider himself had a hand in uncovering the identity of Ms. Brown, who was actually Lucrezia Nearwright, a magistrate on the High Court. Darkstrider had been secretly investigating her before the war, unaware at the time of the existence of the Cabal, but believing her to be taking bribes from gangs, and also attempting to outlaw groups such as The Syndicate, in order to make things easier for the gangs.

Other senior members of the Cabal were known by the names Mr. Black, Mr. Blue, Ms. Green, Mr. Grey, Ms. Opal, Ms. Orange, Mr. Purple, and Mr. White. Their true identities remain unknown.